Simple and Clean
by Gretel-the-Dragon
Summary: The new mission; Neji, Tenten, Guy, and Lee must go to the Hidden Fire Village to escort 2 ninja who have not been home to the Leaf for several years. But Lee thinks the girl, Hasumo Hanatarou, might take a bit of getting used to...
1. Chapter One: A New Mission

Disclaimer: So far in the story I do not own any of the characters. I do not own the Naruto or Naruto Shippuden characters or the programs themselves. This is just the prologue, but I hope you enjoy.

P.S. Just so you all know, I named the story Simple and Clean because:

1. It sounded cool

And

2. I thought that the song Simple and Clean would be a nice theme song for my character who might or might not show up later in the story. And by Simple and Clean, I mean the rock version that has no singing. You can find it at the following link for my MySpace.

.?fuseaction=&friendid=485353058&plid=1067516

* * *

The sound of light breathing filled the air in the small clearing. A breeze rustled the branches of the Birch trees. A few leaves fluttered to the ground. One of the leaves was blown toward the face of a young boy, resting in the shade of one of the trees. He looked to be about fourteen years in age. His black hair came to the middle of his back and was tied into a loose ponytail. His forehead protector covered the strange markings on his brow.

Just as the leaf was about to touch his cheek, his hand shot out and grabbed it. His light grey eyes blinked open. 'Whoever is out there really is terrible at cloaking their presence,' he thought to himself. Yet when he smelled the leaf, there was no _unfamiliar _scent present. 'Come_ on!_'

"NEEEJJIIII!"

"I knew it," Neji groaned, covering his ears in protest against the summons. His philosophy for when dealing with _that_ boy was 'maybe if I ignore him long enough, he'll go away.' However, as the call sounded again, Neji knew that his philosophy had long been proven ineffective. Never did work...

Just as he was about to get up, a green blur jumped from the trees and flew towards the Hyuuga. "NEJI! YOU SHOUD NOT BE SLEEPING ON SUCH A GLORIOUS DAY AS THIS!" the blur shouted, reminding Neji why it was that he did not like him; he had an enormous amount of excess energy.

The other boy nearly kicked Neji in the head as he landed, but, possessing the speed that was one of the many characteristics of his clan, Neji made it out of the way just in time. 'That was actually a close call.'

"Damn it, Lee. You almost took my head off!" Neji said, his left eye beginning to twitch in annoyance. Usually he was pretty calm in character, but there was just something about Lee that could set his nerves on high at a moment's notice.

"WELL, WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO, LET YOU SLEEP AWAY THIS BEAUTIFUL SUMMER DAY, WASTING AWAY ALL THE TIME OF YOUR YOUTH?" Lee countered, pointing a finger at Neji. It was shaking with the force of what Neji presumed was anger at being yelled at. After a few seconds, he seemed to calm down a little as he turned with his arms crossed at his chest with a sigh. "Besides, you should not blame me. I was just coming to get you. We have been assigned to an A-ranked mission. We are supposed to go to Lady Tsunade's office immediately. Besides, all I did was try to wake you up! Stop acting as though I was trying to kill you." Lee looked over his shoulder, a teasing glint in his eyes.

At the mention of an A-ranked mission, Neji gave Lee his undivided attention. "Then we had better go," Neji said as Lee finished his 'rant'.

* * *

This is just the prologue but I think that it turned out pretty good. Sorry for the Lee fans if I made him seem a little out of character. I just HAD to make Lee and Neji angry with each other. I have always wanted to see that... because it also puts cool, calm Neji so out of character. 8D


	2. Chapter Two: To the Fire Village!

Disclaimer: I own nothing... except maybe the mystery char. at the end... maybe...

* * *

Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, it only took Neji and Lee a minute to get to the Hokage Tower at the center of the Leaf Village. They looked up towards the enormous window in Lady Tsunade's office. She was sitting there, apparently waiting for them.

"Well, we had better not keep her waiting any longer," Neji said as he walked into the building.

In Lady Tsunade's office...

"Come on! Sometimes I think those guys are related to Kakashi-Sensei!" A brown-haired kunoichi was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed in front of her chest. She was not known for her patience, and the small amount she possessed was quickly waning.

"Don't whine so much, Tenten, please. I just saw them outside. They're coming," Tsunade said, walking over to her chair to sit down. As soon as she moved, Might Guy walked over to take her place.

She had been waiting at the window for the two missing ninja to appear. It was a wonder in itself that Tenten had arrived before her teammates.

Just as she said that they were coming, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," Lady Tsunade said. Neji opened the door and said, "Please forgive us if we are late, Lady Hokage." Lee followed him into the room, remaining silent.

"That's quite alright, Neji. Now, for the details on this mission." Lady Tsunade leaned back, earning a loud creak from her chair. She grimaced slightly and began briefing them on their new mission.

"Since Guy is the Jounin here, he, of course, will be team leader. Your mission is to safely escort home two Hidden Leaf Shinobi who have been gone for the past seven years, working as our spies in the Hidden Fire Village. They have been staying with another Hidden Leaf ninja stationed there. I will send someone else for her later. She still has some things to take care of before she is ready to come home. The two that you will be escorting say that they do not need anyone to protect them... but I have known these two since the days of their births. I know everything that has ever happened to them in their lives... and I also know that there are a couple of S-rank criminals on their trails. This is not a paid mission, so you don't have to take it. I am asking this of you as a favor from your Hokage.

"I was friends with their parents. Aichi and Megumi Hanataro were two of the kindest people I ever met. They once asked me if I would like to become the godmother of their children, and I accepted their offer. Therefore, I am a partial guardian of those two. If anything were to happen to them, I would never be able to forgive myself." The Fifth Hokage looked around the room at the four ninja before her. "Will you accept this mission?"

"Of course we will!" Guy stated proudly. He flashed Tsunade one of his stunning smiles and gave her a thumbs up. "There is always enough time to help out someone in need... even if they do not know themselves that they are in need. Besides, I can think of this as a chance to help a friend. I met all three of these ninja on one of my solo missions. We got along fairly well. They provided me with a meal and a warm place to rest for the night. I will accept this mission to repay them."

"Wait a minute. Did you say these guys have been there for seven years?" Tenten asked, her eyes wide. "Why have they been there for so long?"

For a moment, Lady Tsunade was silent. Then she said, "That is a question that you should ask them, not me. And Guy... thank you. I really appreciate this."

"No thanks needed," the green-clad Jounin replied. He turned and walked toward the door with his team following close behind. Before his hand could reach for the door, Lady Tsunade said, "I want you to stay for a moment, Guy. There is another detail of the mission that I must discuss with you and you alone. You three can go and wait for him at the village gates." Her eyes were locked onto Guy and looked deadly serious.

All three of the excused ninja knew better than to defy a direct order from Lady Tsunade, especially when she was looking so scary. They all walked out into the hallway. The door closed with a small click behind them.

'I wonder what she had to share with Guy-Sensei,' Lee pondered silently as they walked outside. All he knew was that it must be important. Very important.

And quick to explain apparently. It didn't take Guy more than two or three minutes to appear at the gates. "Let's go."

Izumo and Kotetsu waved to the four of them as they headed out. They knew what the mission was. Half of the village knew...

The trip was not a very eventful one. Lee, shouting about youth and freedom and the beauty of autumn, managed to wake a sleeping wild boar which then chased the four of them down the road for about two miles before finally giving up. After those four, fear-filled minutes, the entire time was spent in silence.

The sun was just sinking below the horizon as the four Hidden Leaf Ninja walked through the gates of the Fire Village. After walking for only a few feet, a voice called out, "Long time no see, Guy."

* * *

I am going to try and update quicker next time. I have had this chapter done for... ahem... a couple weeks... pleezdontkillme!!! But I should have the next chapter up soon because I'm on Christmas break until January the fourth, 2010. Happy holidays!


End file.
